With the advent of process assessment and process improvement as key objectives for many software development organizations, it has become important to provide viable mechanisms to do so. This paper suggests to use production models paired with software metrics that quantify key drivers of productivity. We also show capabilities of production models with two examples. Production models must be used with proper parameterization to be successful. This may mean a new look at which metrics are helpful for process assessment.<<ETX>>


Based on Constructivism Theory, this paper aims to investigate the application of online multimedia courseware to college English teaching. By making experiments and students' feedback, some experience has been accumulated, and some problems are discovered and certain revelations are acquired as well in English teaching practice, which pave the way for further application of the multimedia internet technology to English teaching.


BACKGROUND
Various optimal medical therapies have been established for the treatment of heart failure (HF) with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Like HFrEF, HF with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) too is related to poor prognoses. We aimed to investigate the effect of topiroxostat, an oral xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor, in HFpEF patients with hyperuricemia or gout.

METHODS
In this non-randomized, open-label, single-arm trial, we administered topiroxostat (40-160 mg/day) to HFpEF patients with hyperuricemia or gout to achieve a target uric acid level of 6.0 mg/dl. The primary outcome was the rate of change in the log-transformed brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels from the baseline to 24 weeks after topiroxostat treatment. The secondary outcomes included the amount of change in the BNP levels, uric acid evaluation values, and oxidative stress marker levels after 24 weeks of topiroxostat treatment. Thirty-six patients were enrolled; three were excluded before study initiation.

RESULTS
The log-transformed BNP levels decreased by -3.4 ± 8.9 % (p = 0.043) after 24 weeks of topiroxostat treatment. The rate of change in the BNP level decreased (-18.0 [-57.7, 4.0] pg/ml, p = 0.041). The levels of uric acid and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine/creatinine, an oxidative stress marker, also significantly decreased (-2.8 ± 1.6 mg/dl, p < 0.001, -2.3 ± 3.7 ng/mgCr, p = 0.009, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
The BNP levels were significantly lowered in HFpEF patients with hyperuricemia or gout after topiroxostat administration; however, the rate of decrease was low. Further trials are needed to confirm our findings.


The catalytic performances for CO preferential oxidation in hydrogen-rich fuels were investigated by varying the types of alumina supports, additives excluding platinum, and synthetic methods of impregnation and sol-gel synthesis. The reactions were conducted in the range of $25{\sim}300^{\circ}C$ ...


Selective breeding to improve growth trait in striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) need genetic performance data. This study was carried out to evaluate genetic performance of different generations of the striped catfish population derived from selective breeding. Fifty fish of each population from four generations selected striped catfish was analyzed using five microsatellite loci (Pg-1, Pg-2, Pg-3, Pg-13, and Pg-14). Microsatellite allele data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, Arlequin, and Fstat software. A neighborhood joining dendrogram was constructed based on Nei's distance (Da) matrix with 1,000 bootstrap replications using MEGA7 software. The result showed that totally 31.5 exist, ranged from 4-7. Number of allele was ranged from 5.0 to 5.2, and polymorphic data was from 0.45-0.60. There were some exception, such as the allele of the loci Pg-2—194 bp, Pg-13—227 bp, Pg-13—229 bp, and Pg-14—279 bp; their gene frequencies were increased by generation. Further analyses indicated that most genetic variations arise from individuals within populations (approximately 57.10%). The founder generation closely related to G-0 generation. Likewise, G-1 generation closely related to G-2 generation. This result indicated that selection activity had a very significant impact on the genetic improvement of the selected population.


6568Background: Given the growing evidence that sarcopenia is associated with toxicity and survival in various cancers, we investigated its significance in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (N...


This article analyses, theoretically and empirically, the countercyclical economic policies, in particular the fiscal and monetary ones, implemented by the Brazilian Economic Authorities (BEAs) in response to the International Financial Crisis (IFC), 2007-2008, and the COVID-19 crisis, 2020. The main objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of those policies not only in times of economic growth, but mainly in periods of economic crisis. This idea is in line with the main arguments of Keynesian macroeconomics, which supports the theoretical framework of the article. The empirical analysis of the article shows the effects of fiscal (government spending) and monetary (interest rate) policies in the Brazilian economy between 1996 and 2020. Thus, it was estimated a MS-VAR model to analyze the impacts of fiscal and monetary policies in periods of economic growth and economic crisis. The main results indicate that the effects of fiscal and monetary policies are more pronounced during a period of economic crisis than in a situation of economic growth, supporting, thus, the Keynesian arguments that fiscal and monetary policies are able to affect the economic cycles.


The utility model discloses a deformation robot toy. The deformation robot toy comprises a shell and a chariot roof which are served as a whole appearance of a chariot, a support which is used for connecting the shell and the chariot roof, two headlights and an engine cover which are connected with the support to form a chariot head of the chariot, a head portion which is connected with the upper end of the support, two arms which are connected with the middle portion of the support, two legs which are connected with the lower end of the support, front wheels which are arranged on the two arms and back wheels which are arranged on the two legs. The deformation robot toy can be deformed between the chariot and a robot, and mechanism transformation design of deformation places is very ingenious. Variaty, interestingness and practical applicability of deformation are very high. Appearances of the chariot and the robot are very vivid and cool, and extremely appeal to children.


Livers that are recovered from donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors continue to be a valuable source of allografts for patients on the liver transplant waiting list. Although most national and single-center studies have reported inferior transplant outcomes with livers recovered from DCD donors versus those recovered from donation after brain death (DBD) donors, there are more recent single-center reports demonstrating similar outcomes for DCD and DBD liver transplants. As national and international experience grows, it is becoming clearer that the careful selection of DCD donor livers for transplantation can lead to excellent patient and graft survival rates as well as low rates of biliary complications. The challenge for all transplant surgeons and centers is identifying which DCD donor livers are suitable for transplantation. Several studies have investigated risk factors that predict either allograft loss or biliary complications after DCD liver transplantation. Large database analyses have revealed that the selection of donor livers with a short donor warm ischemia time (DWIT), a short cold ischemia time (CIT) and a younger donor age can result in graft survival rates similar to those associated with DBD liver transplantation. A more recent singlecenter analysis suggests that a prolonged time interval between asystole and aortic cross-clamping in the donor significantly increases the risk of graft loss. Other single-center studies have determined that an older donor age and prolonged CIT or a prolonged total ischemia time, increased donor weight, and older donor age increase the risk of ischemic cholangiopathy. In these single-center studies, the duration of DWIT was not an independent predictor of either graft loss or ischemic cholangiopathy. The unpredictability of DWIT as a risk factor for graft failure or ischemic cholangiopathy may be due to the insufficient power of single-center studies, a selection bias from preferentially selecting donor livers with a short DWIT, or variability in the definition of DWIT. DWIT has been routinely defined as the time interval between the withdrawal of support and organ flushing in the donor. However, because a donor may maintain normal blood pressure and oxygen saturation for a period of time after withdrawal and before physiological deterioration, many believe that the total duration of DWIT is an inaccurate assessment of true end organ warm ischemia and poor allograft outcomes. If true hepatic ischemia is occurring for a shorter time period within the DWIT interval, then identifying a more specific interval may lead to lower discard rates and improved liver transplant outcomes.


Stable haptic interaction hasbeenstudied extensively byanenergy-based approach. However, the energy inthehaptic system isnotdirectly measurable, butestimated fromsomemeasured quantities suchasforce and velocity; therefore, theestimated energy isoccasionally inaccurate. Furthermore, haptic stability isdifficult toobserve bytheenergy-based approach forcomplicated virtual environments. Toresolve this problem, anewobserver, called a haptic stability observer, isproposed inthis research. Theempirical investigation ofunstable haptic interaction inthe frequency domain showed that thetypical unstable behavior ofahaptic system isdifferent fromrandom oscillations introduced bythehandmotion ofahumanoperator. Thehaptic stability observer working inthefrequency domain quantifies thedegree ofinstability ofahaptic system. A double layered wallwasimplemented inthevirtual environment toverify thevalidity oftheHSO.Experimental results ofthedouble layered wallshowthat theHSOis muchfaster than thepassivity observer indetecting haptic instability.


The current study aimed to examine the relationship between four dimensions of organisational clarity (role clarity, strategic clarity, organisational structure clarity, processes clarity) and knowledge sharing behaviour. It also aimed to explore the moderate effect of information and communication technology (ICT) on the relationship between the dimensions of organisational clarity and knowledge sharing behaviour. A quantitative method was employed, and data was collected from 101 of the academicians at Duhok polytechnic university (DPU) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Results support the moderating role of ICT of the organisational clarity dimensions and knowledge sharing behaviour relationships. The originality of this study stems from the scarcity of studies that investigate the relationships between organisational clarity and knowledge sharing behaviour, and the role of ICT as a moderator on this relationship is unprecedented.


This is a description of a transmedia music format development project, named TMS and one research study conducted in order to guide the format developers in the early stages of developing the transmedia idea. Our work integrates user experience research with content development in an iterative design process. Ideas and iterations of content are tested on the target audience in order to feed back to the development process. The empirical study presented in this paper targets general dimensions of great music experiences. We will discuss the implications of the results in the context of format development.


In the area of process control, there is a need to elaborate the dimensions of a cognitive typology, which can be of relevance to explain research results and define their domains of validity. To do so, it is not enough to describe environments, but rather the results of interactions between environments and operators, termed situations. This paper discusses the conditions for achieving a cognitive typology, presents some of its possible dimensions and shows its usefulness. Six main dimensions are examined: (1) Control scope (causal, temporal, and spatial). There is a clear relationship between this dimension and expertise, through the use of schematic representations. (2) Control directness (effects of interventions on the crucial variables of the process). When control is indirect, interventions can initiate complex causal chains. This reinforces the need for planning and supervision of the implementations of these chains. (3) Process information accessibility. When information on the crucial variables ...


A detailed description of the method of calculation of electron inelastic scattering cross-section and mean free path in solid SiO2 is presented. The method is based upon the complex dielectric function formalism. It allows obtaining the inelastic mean free path of a charged particle in solids with high accuracy. The calculated inelastic mean free path of electrons in silicon dioxide presented in this contribution shows a very good agreement with the experimental data and with other theoretical calculations.


By analysing the complicated characters of the complex project,this paper explores the advantages of grid technology in complex project crisis management and builds a grid-based crisis management system according to the complex project gird division and management procedures based on grid.The paper then explains the functions of every subsystem and analyses the safety strategy,designs the physical structures and gives a description of the operation of complex project crisis management grid system.Timely and efficient crisis disposal can be achieved via the designed crisis management grid system so as to minimize losses caused by the crisis.


This paper collates some of the experience of managers, tutors
and learners who have used live, audio-visual communication systems for
distance learning. Eight design heuristics are abstracted from this
experience and used to reason about how digital communications could
make LIVENET more effective. The heuristics are: (i) encourage other
(non-training) uses for the communications network; (ii) encourage the
participation of otherwise unavailable experts; (iii) exploit visual images,
both to communicate information and to support information
communicated presented verbally; (iv) avoid technology-induced,
inequable opportunity for learning; (v) encourage analogies with face-toface
learning modes, rather than conventional television and home video;
(vi) help users to find out about other participants and what they are able
to see and hear; (vii) actively encourage interaction; and (viii) reassure
tutors that the apparent intrusiveness of the technology is just an initial
impression.


This paper focuses on the history of science fiction which emerged not only as the new genre of English literature but also emerged as a new mean to express the views of various radical authors as if prophesising the alternative history of the world in the coming years. The fear of the world emerging as the place destroying itself through its own innovation by unjustified use of the new weapons and using them to overcome the geographical territories. The paper includes the works of science fiction with their themes rooted in some or the other political and historical event.


How familiar are children with bats and what do they know about them ? Where in the curriculum can the study of bats be introduced and what are the advantages of doing this ? These questions are addressed and a range of the resources available to teachers are described


Energy is essential for the production and movement of "things". Using an assemblage of machines the industrial revolution exponentially increased the energy available to human society; however, such machinery required human supervision and control to attain its objectives. There are basically three "ideal types" of machines: those that convert matter from one form of matter to another; those that convert energy from one form of energy to another; and, those that exchange information. Cybernetics deals with the latter. In that sense, the Internet may be conceived of as an immense machine encompassing the breadth and length of the planet that has the real-time capacity to interconnect and put in common all of human kind, an embryonic global civil society. The next evolutionary leap is now underway, the Internet of things (IoT) which, as inferred from its name, will permit the connection of "things" to each other as well as to human beings implying that, like today's cybernetic machines, "things" will soon possess a degree of "intelligence". In conjunction with certain functions (e.g., the capture, recording and transmission of information), such intelligence will equal or exceed that of humans. Based on the foregoing, what Karl Marx's anticipated as a "social brain" is emerging before our own eyes. Since ancient times, humans and things have formed a single system (human society) comprised of a single socio-technical object in the sense defined in actor-network theory (ANT) by Michel Callon and Bruno Latour. In the latter, humans provided the desire and intelligence and "things" the energy and transformation of matter, even if 'us" and "them", humans and machines did not intercommunicate (converse). Now, however, a subtle disruption is occurring as "things" begin to acquire varying degrees of intelligence and thus conversation and a new kind of synergy appears plausible. Such disruption was anticipated by Marx in his famous Fragment on Machines (1857) where he wrote: "The accumulation of knowledge and skills of the general productive forces of the social brain is thus absorbed within capital." (Marx, 1980, p.220). There (see Notebook VI-VII of


An habitat use study of mammals was carried out in three habitats of the Cerrado at Serra das Araras Ecological Station, Mato Grosso: stream gallery forest, babacu (Orbigyna marciana) palm forest, and cerrado scrub savanna. Sampling was accomplished using baited photographic camera traps triggered by infrared sensor and/or trip cord. Camera traps were armed at each sampling locality for ten consecutive days for totalling 560 camera-nights. Seventeen species of mammals were registered, including threatened or endangered species such as the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), puma (Puma concolor), and ocelote (Leopardus pardalis). Puma (Puma concolor), paca (Agouti paca), agouti (Dasyprocta punctata), and tapir (Tapirus terrestris), were photographed frequently, suggesting high population densities of these species at Serra das Araras. Puma appeared to be the most generalist of the large mammals, using all three habitat types. The majority of species were photographed only in forest habitats. In cerrado (sensu stricto), only three species were recorded: puma, giant anteater, and giant armadillo. The results suggest that conservation of the cerrado and associated habitats is of fundamental importance for the preservation of several threatened and endangered species.


Post-collision fires in road vehicles, a pre-study The loss of human lives and body injuries as a consequence of post-crash fires either by smoke inhalation or due to burn injuries are unfortunately not uncommon. The literature indicates that fire events related to crashes are still a significant problem. The increased combustible load in newer vehicles is an important factor to be taken into account for the fire safety, as well as their potential to release toxic fumes while burning. Trends indicate that the survivable collision energy will continue to increase and, at the same time, the probability of post-crash fires rises with the collision energy. This means that the occupants of a vehicle may probably survive a high energy collision but will sustain severe injuries or death due to a post collision fire. This report contains a pre-study where a literature survey about post-crash fires was done including statistics on the causes and dynamics of post-crash fires in road vehicles based on the literature, crash and incident reports as well as on interviews with medicine specialists. Further, a study about current fire legislation, environmental aspects of fires and a literature study on materials used for the manufacturing of vehicles and their relation to post-crash fires are included. Results from this study indicate that fires in vehicles originated by a collision event are a problem needed to solve.


A method of using particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithms to optimise the element spacing and lengths of Yagi-Uda antennas is presented. SuperNEC, an object-oriented version of the numerical electromagnetic code (NEC-2) is used to evaluate the performance of various Yagi-Uda antenna designs. In order to show the capabilities of the PSO algorithm in Yagi-Uda antenna design, three different antenna design cases are optimised for various performance specifications. The three objectives considered are gain only, gain and input impedance only, and gain, input impedance and relative sidelobe level (rSLL). To alleviate the premature convergence problem of PSO, a novel learning strategy is employed. Each design problem is optimised using three variants of PSO algorithms, namely the modified PSO, fitness-distance ratio PSO (FDR-PSO), and comprehensive learning PSO (CLPSO). For the purpose of comparison and benchmarking, equally spaced arrays, genetic algorithm optimised antenna design, and computational intelligence optimised antenna design are considered. The results clearly show that the CLPSO is a robust and useful optimisation tool for designing Yagi antennas for the desired target specifications.


ABSTRACT The ranges of initial void ratios that can be achieved for numerical samples with the same grading as actual sand under gravity are explored using three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM). A corrected compressible accumulation model is proposed to predict the packing density of sand. Compared with the measured results, the errors of the prediction results are small. For three-dimensional DEM samples, when the ratio of sample size to particle size L/R is equal to or larger than 30, the maximum and the minimum void ratios are minimally affected by the sample size L. The maximum void ratios and the minimum void ratios of numerical samples with spherical particles are much smaller than those of actual sands. The generation method for numerical samples with non-spherical particles is proposed based on the theory of CPM. The variations of void ratios of numerical samples with non-spherical particles are wider than actual sands. So it can meet all the need of DEM simulation on the void ratio of actual sand.


Late Gestation Fetal Rat Hepatocyte Proliferation Is Independent of p70 S6 Kinase Mitogenic Signaling: Implications for the Role of Growth Factors in Fetal Liver Development


The Commonwealth of nations is home to 1.2 billion people; one out of four human beings on earth lives in one of the 53 Commonwealth countries. Almost half these nations are small with populations under a million while three (or four) of them are among the nine populous countries of the world. Except for the richer countries of the Commonwealth (Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore) which are aging, the others have populations that are young (those under 15 far out number those above 65); those with younger populations are also among the poorest having a higher percentage of illiteracy and employing the working populations in less skilled and low paying jobs. The need for more education and training in these less well endowed nations is clearly obvious.


In a few years, the concept of «living in the Nature» has succeeded to the concept of «preserving Nature», (I.E. against Man). This involved for scientists many problems – either that they suffer from lack of collective prospects and take refugee in their speciality - either that, on the contrary, social matters and ideological struggle come for them before Ecology and Science.
Between these two positions a reasonable way must be found to allow exchanges between the scientists and the social collectivity.
The «white book for maintenance of Nature in Catalonia» is an example of the role of a scientific organization, in the popular uprising for the preservation of Nature.


In this paper, the engineering of pulse power supply in electromagnetic launch technology is studied in depth, the advantages and disadvantages of optical fiber communication transmission currently used are analyzed, and then the requirements for data transmission of pulse power supply system are summarized, and several commonly used wireless communication technologies are analyzed and compared, such as ZigBee, LoRa, SigFox, NB IoT, 5G, etc. According to the comprehensive comparison of these technologies in transmission distance, rate, bandwidth, security, time delay, self built network and other aspects, the scheme of using LoRa wireless communication technology to replace optical fiber transmission is finally determined, and the LoRa wireless communication network construction, controller hardware circuit design, module software program, data transmission communication protocol, data encryption, data storage and other contents in the scheme are further designed in detail, It also predicts the further research and development of LoRa wireless communication technology in pulse power supply.


This study was conducted to investigate the growth performance and meat quality improvement according to castration, optimal feeding management and ruminally protected amino acid-enriched fatty acid (RPAAFA) for the unselected Hanwoo bulls in the performance test. Bulls were castrated at approximately 14 months of age. Sixteen Hanwoo steers, 15 months of age and weighing 412.9±24.9 kg, were distributed into 2 groups. Steers were fed a basal diet supplemented with RPAAFA at 0 g (control) or 100 g (treatment), respectively for 12 months. Steers were slaughtered at 27 months of age. Average daily gain for treatment tended to be higher (p=0.10) than that of control, whereas feed conversion ratio tended to be lower (p=0.07) in treatment than in control. The supplementation of RPAAFA did not affect rib eye area, back fat thickness, meat color, fat color, texture and maturity. The appearance rates of yield 'A' grade and high quality grade (1 ++ , 1 + and 1) were higher in treatment than in control. The content of moisture, fat, protein and ash in longissimus muscles were similar between control and treatment. The supplementation of RPAAFA did not affect water-holding capacity, oxidation and reduction potential, myoglobin and fatty acid contents in longissimus muscles. Thus, present results indicate that castration, optimal feeding management and RPAAFA may be recommended for improving growth performance and quality grade of the unselected Hanwoo bulls in the performance test.


The aim of this study was to report the radiological and pedobarographic results of 10 children's 20 feet with symptomatic flexible flat foot, who were treated with gastrocnemius lengthening with arthroereisis of subtalar joint. A total of 10 children's 20 feet (5 boys and 5 girls between 9-14-year-old) with painful feet due to the flatfoot were treated in our clinic between August 2016 and December 2018. Bilateral gastrocnemius lengthening and arthroereisis of subtalar joint was performed simultaneously. Radiological evaluation was performed by measuring calcaneal pitch angle and Meary's talusfirst metatarsal angles, pedobarographic evaluation by static and dynamic plantar heel and forefoot pressure data. The mean calcaneal pitch angle increased from 8° ± 0.93° preoperatively to 16.5° ± 1.14° postoperatively, and the mean Meary's talus-first metatarsal angle decreased from 7.5° ± 1.14°preoperatively to 0.5° ± 0.51° postoperatively. The mean heel peak pressure and the forefoot peak pressure ascended from 11.5 ± 1.14 (N/cm2) and 10.5 ± 1.14 (N/cm2) preoperatively to 17.5 ± 1.14 (N/cm2) and 15.5 ± 1.14 (N/cm2) postoperatively, respectively. Clinical evaluation revealed that 9 patient had painful feet, while 1 patient had discomfort since the implant had been inserted.Arthroereisis of subtalar joint with simultaneous gastrocnemius lengthening provides painful feet and seems to be an effective, simple and safe solution for symptomatic flexible flatfoot in pediatric patients.


There is evidence of gaps in knowledge, perception and self-assessed competence on reproductive and sexual health (RSH) issues of nursing students. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in Bangalore city between January 2017–December 2018 to study the impact of a capacity-building initiative for 1st-year nursing students on their knowledge, perceptions, self-assessed competence and resilience. Eight nursing institutions were selected purposively; initially, four were allocated randomly through lottery method to the intervention group (IG) and four to the comparison group (CG). Since one institution dropped out before the intervention from IG, another institution was recruited to replace this institution. Both, the IG and CG, had seven batches of students (three diploma and four degree) each. A sample size of 120 students for each group was required. An investigator-developed and validated survey was administered to both groups at the start (pre-test) and 18 months after the start (post-test) of the study to assess their knowledge, perceptions and self-assessed competencies. Resilience was measured at the end of the study using a standardised tool, 'The Child Youth Resilience Measure'. A capacity-building initiative (31.5 h) which was participatory, contextualised and integrated life skills, was implemented for the IG over a period of 18 months. A condensed version of the programme (13.75 h) was provided to the CG over the same period. The analysis considered a total sample of 625 students (IG = 294; CG = 331) that participated in both, the pre-test and the post-test. Nursing students within both groups showed statistically significant improvement in their overall knowledge scores from pre-test to post-test (P < 0.01). However, the difference in the overall knowledge scores of IG and CG (between groups) was not statistically significant at the post-test (P = 0.076). There was a statistically significant increase in self-assessed competencies on RSH within both groups from pre-test to post-test (P < 0.001), but no statistically significant difference was seen between the two groups at post-test (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in resilience scores between IG and CG at the post-test. The study is limited in that it could not measure competencies in the real-world setting. The study shows that changes in perceptions would require more time and possibly more practice and experience. Nevertheless, even condensed versions of such capacity-building initiatives could improve the overall knowledge and self-assessed competencies of nursing students.


Abstract A scoring system for registration of apical periodontitis in radiographs is presented. The system is termed the periapical index (PAI) and provides an ordinal scale of 5 scores ranging from 1 (healthy) to 5 (severe periodontitis with exacerbating features). Its validity is based on the use of reference radiographs of teeth with verified histological diagnoses. Results from studies involving 11 observers and 47 selected radiographs document that the PAI system is reasonably accurate, reproducible and able to discriminate between sub-populations. It may also allow for results from different researchers to be compared. The system may be suitable for the analysis of periapical radiographs in epidemiological studies, in clinical trials and in retrospective analyses of treatment results in endodontics.


The rose tortrix moth, Archips rosana (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a pest that causes serious crop losses in apple orchards throughout the world. In this study, the population dynamics of A. rosana and its associated parasitoids were investigated in two provinces of Western Turkey (Denizli and Usak) in 2018 and 2019. A total of 318 egg masses, 300 larvae, and 129 pupae were collected from the survey areas. Although no parasitoids were detected in egg masses, ten parasitoid species belonging to Braconidae, Chalcididae, and Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera), and Tachinidae (Diptera), were reared from the samples of larvae and pupae. Phytodietus astutus (Gravenhorst) (Ichneumonidae) was the most abundant parasitoid species, with a relative abundance of 35.1%, followed by Itoplectus maculator (Fabricius) (Ichneumonidae) represented by 27% of the recovered parasitoids. Moreover, P. astutus and Scambus inanis (Schrank) (Ichneumonidae) reared from the samples are the first records from Turkey, while Cotesia glomerata (L.) (Braconidae), Exochus sp.(Ichneumonidae), and Nemorilla maculosa (Meigen) (Tachinidae) are the first records from A. rosana. Using pheromone traps in the apple orchards, the first adult of A. rosana was caught on May 24 in Civril (Denizli) and on May 30 in Sivasli (Usak) in 2019. www.biotaxa.org/RSEA. ISSN 1851-7471 (online) Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 79(4): 1-7, 2020 Copyright OZEN, M. et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0) 1


The structural specificity for nucleotide-stimulated insulin secretion was studied n i an in vitro golden hamster pancreas system. Cyclic 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) was the most effective cyclic nucleotide in stimulating insulin secretion. The cyclic nucleotides of uridine, cytidine, inosine and guanosine did not stimulate significant insulin secretion. In the nucleoside triphosphate series, adenosine triphos-phate and guanosine triphosphate are equally effective in stimulating insulin secretion. Inosine triphosphate is a weaker stimulator of insulin secretion than adenosine triphosphate; uridine and cytidine triphosphate do not significantly stimulate insulin secretion. The structural subunits of adenosine triphosphate stimulate insulin secretion with the following decreasing order of effectiveness: adenosine > adenosine diphosphate. Adenosine monophosphate does not stimulate significant insulin secretion. Adenosine may be the most effective of the subunits because it enters intact cells more r...


With the COVID‐19 pandemic, chemosensory dysfunction are among the most prevalent symptoms. Most reports are subjective evaluations, which have been suggested to be unreliable. The objective is to test chemosensory dysfunction and recovery based on extensive psychophysical tests in COVID‐19 during the course of the disease.


Bacterial flora associated with the intestines of farm raised freshwater fishes such as Labeo rohita , Catla catla and Ctenopharyngodon idella have been analysed. The mean population of total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) of the intestine of L. rohita was 3.2xl06 colony forming units (CFU) per gram and that of C. catla and C. idella were 4.79x10'' and 1.13xl07 CFU respectively. Morphological and physiological grouping of the isolates revealed dominance of gram negative rod shaped bacteria capable of elaborating various hydrolytic enzymes such as amylase, lipase and gelatinase. Ureolytic forms were relatively few. Characterisation of the genera revealed the dominance of Aeromonas in the intestine of these fishes. Other genera encountered were Corynebacterium , Micrococcus , Alcaligenes , Vibrio , Moraxella , Bacillus, Lactobacillus , Acinetobacter , Flavobacterium and members of the family Enterobacteriaceae .


Melinda Rackham's web-based multimedia installation carrier invites its audience to consider the intersections of virus and human, through an investigation of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and its impact upon conceptions of the self in the posthuman digital era. Rackham uses her experience with HCV to posit the infected as more-than-human, and in doing so she prompts new ways of thinking about the personal story in a hypertextual framework.


4'-(9-Acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide (m-AMSA) is metabolized by a hepatic microsomal enzyme system composed of rat liver microsomes, a reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucle-otide phosphate-generating system, cytosolic protein (or gluta-thione), and oxygen. Omission of any one of the components, or incubation under an atmosphere of CO or N2, results in inhibition of the reaction. Also, the addition of inhibitors of microsomal metabolism (a-naphthoflavone, metyrapone, or SKF 525-A) de creases m-AMSA metabolism. Metabolism of m-AMSA is more rapid with microsomes prepared from rats pretreated with phén obarbital or 3-methylcholanthrene. Two microsomal oxidation products of m-AMSA were isolated and identified as N1'-meth-anesulfonyl-N4'-(9-acridinyl)-3'-methoxy-2',5'-cyclohexadiene- 1',4'-diimine (m-AQDI) and 3'-methoxy-4'-(9-acridinyl-amino)-2',5'-cyclohexadien-1 '-one (m-AQI). m-AQDI reacts with glutathione to form a product previously identified in in vivo studies as the principal rat biliary metabolite and which is not cytotoxic to cultured L1210 cells. Thus, the end result of the microsomal metabolism of m-AMSA is detoxification. However, the two primary oxidation products (m-AQDI and m-AQI) are considerably more cytotoxic to L1210 cells in vitro than is m-AMSA. The concentration of m-AMSA required to produce a 5-log kill is 1.0 jig/ml compared to 0.01 ng/ml for m-AQDI and m-AQI. These results indicate that m-AMSA might undergo bioactivation to form the active cytotoxic species of the drug. When the spectra of still smaller quantities of m-AQDI were obtained, the relative intensities of the m-AMSA peaks were even more pronounced.


Short stature due to SHOX deficiency represents the most commonly known form of growth failure, with a frequency greater than 1:1,000 in the Caucasian population. As many different mutations can cause SHOX haploinsufficiency, a comprehensive collection of gene variants represents an essential tool to distinguish between functional variants and polymorphisms. We have created a novel and widely extended SHOX database using the "LOVD in a box‐solution." This database contains not only a larger amount of mutation data (140 novel mutations were added), but also reports on phenotypic consequences, mode of inheritance, and ethnic origin, as well as on functional consequences of mutations investigated. In addition, the database now includes non‐disease‐related polymorphisms to enable researchers to evaluate their diagnostic findings. The database (Available at: http://hyg‐serv‐01.hyg.uni‐heidelberg.de/lovd/index.php?select_db=SHOX; Last accessed: 12 April 2007) contains all presently known 199 intragenic mutations (SNPs as well as small deletions and insertions), 126 of which are unique. The remote user is able to search the data and to submit new mutations into the database. Furthermore, it includes general information about the SHOX gene via links to other resources such as MIM, GDB, HGMD, and HAPMAP, as well as websites of Short Stature Associations. Hum Mutat 28(10), 933–938, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


For a system of N identical particles it is shown explicitly by asymptotic analysis that the canonical density matrix in semiclassical approximation of orders h0 and h2 has semigroup property approximately to orders h(cross)0 and h(cross)2, respectively. Similar approximations appearing in applications of the Trotter formula have that property to order h0 only for diagonal elements.


The present invention is, rock drilling rig, a mobile operating method and speed control of the rock drilling rig. Rock-drilling rig (1) comprises a combustion engine free driving device including a plurality of electrical components for realizing the moving operation (K) (16). Rock drilling rig of the control unit (C) includes a load monitoring unit for monitoring the load of the parts during the movement operation (KV). Load monitor unit is overloaded certain period in advance limit, the electric drive system intentionally. The user interface of the control unit comprises a speed controller (50), the operating element (51), second to perform operation in a first operating range (53) the overload range for operation within the rated load and an operating range (54). .The


demonstrated signal intensity central signal on weighted and Tau Inversion Recovery and on T1 ABSTRACT Schwannoma is a benign, expansile neoplasm that originates from nerve sheaths. Intramuscular schwannoma is a rare tumor presenting as a slow-growing soft-tissue mass that may or may not has associated neurological symptoms. We present a rare case of intramuscular schwannoma of the dorsal ramus nerve in a 50-year-old female patient who presented with a single, firm, and well-defined swelling over the back region. On magnetic resonance imaging, a 54 mm × 23 mm × 20 mm, well-defined altered signal intensity lesion at the left posterior paraspinal region extending from the superior endplate of D12 to the inferior endplate of L1 vertebral bodies was noted which was suggestive of neurogenic tumor/ hemangioma. The swelling was excised and sent for histopathological examination (HPE). A diagnosis of intramuscular schwannoma was confirmed on HPE. Hence, all soft-tissue tumors should be sent for HPE for confirmation of the diagnosis and its further management.


Intercoat adhesion failure of bisphenol A-epichlorohydrin epoxides cross-linked with polyaliphatic amine cross-linking agents has been observed to be a function of both percent relative humidity (RH) and temperature. According to our results, coatings cured at temperatures above 21 o C (70 o F) exhibit intercoat adhesion failure at relative humidity levels in excess of 80%. However, at lower temperatures such as 13 o C (55 o F), intercoat adhesion failure can be observed at RH levels as low as 40%. The addition of thinner appears to aggravate, but not initiate, intercoat adhesion failure


At present, the camera with high resolution has been widely used. However, it is not accurate for the above camera to use the traditional computer vision method for calibration. So, a method for camera calibration in photogrametry is referred to, and the comparison of the coordinate system, parameter definitions and the camera model between in photogrametry and in computer vision is presented. Thus, the calibration result of photogrametry can be transplanted well to computer vision. Finally, 5DmarkII is used as an example, and its calibration result in the photogrametry is verified by OpenCV functions.


The study describes data collected from the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) that was administered to 94 Navajo elementary students in grades 4-6 to determine their perceptions toward science and scientists. The DAST is a useful assessment instrument for teachers interested in addressing stereotypes students may hold related to science. A commonly used checklist (DASTC) was used to score student drawings. In looking only at the numerical scores, it would appear that Navajo students generally have a much less stereotypical view of scientists than other populations reported from previous studies. However, a low score on the checklist may actually indicate that a student has no conception whatsoever of what a scientist is. Interviews with individual students were also conducted to clarify items depicted in the drawings. The Navajo student drawings provided additional information unique to this sample that offers valuable insight into students' perceptions, beliefs, and values. This information may be useful to science educators who are interested in developing a culturally relevant science curriculum for Navajo students.


To apply the working process-based curriculum development method to develop the public basic course of office software application, and the procedure is: based on clarifying the objectives of curriculum development, carry out oriented analysis on the specialty posts, post working tasks and the professional abilities for completing tasks, identifying the learning field course, then compile the specialty teaching standard and curriculum standard, and evaluate the course.


We explore the impact of judgement bias on demand forecast accuracy and profit to identify the driving force of decision-makers to be biased. We study the accuracy-maximising forecasts and the profit-maximising forecasts, which results in the least error of demand forecasts and minimum deviation from the optimal order decision, respectively. Under the assumption that period-to-period demand is independent over time, we find that both types of forecasts are biased. It implies that a newsvendor has the motivation to be biased to obtain either a more accurate demand forecast or a higher profit. Moreover, the decision error under the accuracy-maximising forecasts can be lower than that under unbiased demand forecasts and be bounded by twice of the error under profit-maximising forecasts. It suggests that the biased accuracy-maximising forecasts can perform satisfactorily in both forecasts and decisions. We further relax the assumption of independent demand by considering correlated and trended demand processes, and show the robustness of the positive impact of judgement bias. We then propose a method to solve pure data-driven newsvendor problem and examine its performance with empirical evidence. Our paper contributes to the literature on behavioural operations management by investigating the rationality of judgement bias and its implications.


Ouwing to reform, the ownership and interests, social living styles, social organization forms and the employment become more and more diversified. The paper points out the various aspects of effects of these social diversifications on people's fertility ideas and the counterpart actions to eliminate the negative impacts.


IN HAWAll the Territorial Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry is charged with the maintenance of forest reserves. Before World War II forest tree seeds were imported from outside sources for reforestation purposes; During the war years, when seeds could not normally be imported because of the critical shipping situation, it was realized that some locally harvested tree seeds could not be kept under ordinary conditions for any extended period without impairment of their viability . At the request of the Territorial Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forest ry, studies on the viability .of forest tree seeds were pursued at the University of Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station between the years 1944 and 1948. Seeds ofthe following trees were tested : paper bark (Melaleuca Leucadendron Linn.) , brush box (Tristania conferta R. Br.), turpentine tree (Syncarpia laurifolia Ten.), Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria excelsa R. Br.), mamani (Sophora chrysophylla Seem.), Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa Hartw.), and Indian sandalwood (Santalum album Linn.). It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of experiments designed to develop practical means of prolonging the viability of seeds of these forest trees under storage.


Objective
To explore the outcomes of free flap from the radial artery superficial palmar branch (RASP) innervated by the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm for repairing the defects of finger pulp.

Methods
From April, 2013 to February, 2015, 20 fingers in 20 cases were treated with free flap from RASP innervated by the later-al cutaneous nerve of the forearm. The area of flap was from 1.8 cm×2.0 cm to 2.0 cm×4.0 cm. Postoperative follow up was done termly.

Results
All 20 flaps survived. All cases were followed-up for 7-20 months(averag, 12 months). The flaps appeared well with good texture. The two-point discrimination was from 7 mm to 12 mm, and graded with S3 and S3+ sensation.There was little scar noted at the donor site in the wrist.There was no influence of hand and wrist func-tion.

Conclusion
The method of using free flap from SASP innervated by the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm to repair the defects of finger pulp has good clinical effect.

Key words:
Free flap; Superficial palmar branch, radial artery; Lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm; Finger; Injury


The invention discloses a novel technology for preparing N-alkoxycarbonyl thionocarbamate. The novel technology is characterized by including the steps that chloro-carbonic ester, thiocyanate and alcohol are used as raw materials and reacted in a water-based solvent, wherein an N-alkoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate product does not need to be prepared; N-alkoxycarbonyl thionocarbamate is directly prepared with a one-step method, wherein the thiocyanate is dissolved into water, a catalyst is added into the thiocyanate solution, the reaction temperature is kept being 30 DEG C, mixed liquid of the chloro-carbonic ester and the alcohol is slowly dropped, the mixture continues to be heated to be at 70 DEG C after dropwise adding is finished, standing is carried out for layering, and an organic-phase product is obtained. By means of the novel technology, the existing preparing technology of N-alkoxycarbonyl thionocarbamate is improved, the step of preparing N-alkoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate is omitted, pungent smells and toxicity generated when the N-alkoxycarbonyl thionocarbamate is prepared are avoided, environment pollution and harm to the health of persons are reduced, energy consumption is reduced, and the preparing cost is reduced.


The article focuses on people's communicative behavior, which depends on the specific combination of verbal and non-verbal means, physiological, psychological, and other factors. This gives special prominence to the phonetic means of information transfer.


The influence of a soil tillage process on subsequent tillage processes was studied by laboratory experiments on small soil samples. Suction curves as well as the relation between moisture content and strength properties depend on moisture content at precompaction. The described method allows the testing of many variables at relatively low costs.


To analyze microbiological effectiveness of vancomycin in children from a pediatric hospital through population pharmacokinetic modelling, as well as to propose dose adjustment, a cross-sectional study was performed in children under vancomycin treatment from the John Paul II Children's Hospital, MG. In order to establish a model, concentrations versus time curves were analyzed using a population pharmacokinetic approach with Pmetrics® . Seventeen blood samples of 10 patients were collected. The best model to describe vancomycin population pharmacokinetic (PK) consisted of a two-compartment linear intravenous absorption model. The R² value and bias for population and individuals in observed versus predicted plot was 0.642 vs. 0.992 and the bias of 0.41 mg/L and 0.0778 mg/L, respectively. The covariables creatinine clearance, age, and body mass index were related to vancomycin PK. A relevant PK variability for vancomycin in pediatric patients was verified, which was significantly influenced by creatinine clearance, age, and body mass index. This result justifies the formulation of dosing recommendations for vancomycin in pediatric patients to achieve adequate pharmacodynamics targets.


This paper reviews recent literature on schizoaffective disorder. Research studies of diagnosis, clinical course and outcome and family history are evaluated. It is concluded that schizoaffective disorder is a heterogeneous category which includes patients with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, a genetically distinct psychosis and a genetic disposition to both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.


The author examines the economic situation in Russia, with special reference to the Mafia-type terrorist organizations that have flourished and which are corrupting government officials as efforts are made to transfer economic assets from the Government to private ownership. Key Words: Russian economy, extortion, mafia, economic crime Russia has no semblance of democracy and is far from achieving real market reform. Russia's present rulers are hardly better than the Communists. A stable and tight oligarchy of 150-200 people is deciding the fate of the nation. For the past 10 years, leaders have robbed their own people of national wealth, pocketing billions of dollars, impoverishing millions and possibly leading to the death of thousands. Russia's economic chaos is the result of nearly criminal reforms that have created a new class of mafia capitalists. Alexander Solzhenitsyn' Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 31, 1991, the struggle for power between various groups within the disintegrated state has yet to produce a visible and dominant leader. Boris Yeltsin claims to be the liberator of the Russian Federation and mediator of the other fifteen republics, guiding them towards democratic and market reforms. However, those who were once members of the political elite, the former Communists, still hold a majority of the political and economic authority in the former USSR. During the 1993 parliamentary elections, the Communists and nationalists gained a large share of the State Duma's seats, and Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov and the Liberal Democratic Party leader Zhirnovsky both grew more popular and influential. Zhirnovsky's faction received 23 percent of the votes.2 In order to avoid a Communist victory in the 1996 presidential elections, seven prominent bankers provided approximately three million dollars as well as most of the media's attention to Yeltsin's campaign. These bankers feared that a return to power of the Communists would eliminate privatization.' Following his electoral victory, and in gratitude for their assistance, President Yeltsin appointed these seven bankers to senior cabinet positions. Unfortunately the close relationship between organized crime and bureaucratic corruption is undermining the trend toward political and economic privatization in Russia today. As the bonds between organized crime and governmental corruption continue to strengthen, a return to totalitarian rule becomes a possible outcome. This paper seeks to expose organized crime's relationship to the totalitarian model. In addition, it discusses the current state of the Russian economy, and how crime-induced instability is impeding democracy. Finally, it identifies the three different paths Russia could possibly pursue, dependent on the relative strength of the relationship between government corruption and organized crime, and the ability of non-corrupt reformers to combat these two forces. When Communist Party officials realized that the Soviet Union was crumbling in the early 1990s, those who managed or had access to the state's financial resources privately transferred substantial state assets into their own private accounts. Those same criminal bureaucrats, often retaining close ties to members of the state bureaucracy, are consequently once again controlling and monopolizing the Russian economy by virtue of their new status as major actors amongst "Russia's most influential bank managers company directors, and heads of commercial enterprises."4 Dr. Louise Shelley testifies that the new type of thief within the Russian Federation has "one foot in the old black market world, the old criminal world, and another foot in the official world, the world of politics and the old structure of the party."5 Today, many purportedly pro-democracy officials are adding to the level of corruption. Government officials frequently charge rival officials in government or in rival businesses with being guilty of corruption or of cooperating with organized criminals in order to oust them from their positions or diminish their powers. …


Abstract : A spatial filtering technique for observing several different moire patterns in the same image of superposed gratings and for separating them at will, is described. In addition to the commonly observed moire pattern, and the equivalent patterns obtained by fringe sharpening or multiplication, patterns can be observed that correspond to different forms of the indicial equation describing the parametric properties of moire phenomena. In particular both the additive and subtractive moires are obtained individually, over the field. This method, combined with a previously developed method for obtaining spatial partial derivatives from deformed gratings (as a direct moire rather than moire of moire), permits the experimental determination of the whole field of Cartesian shears and rigid rotations. The method is applied to a circular ring subjected to diametral compression. (Author)


A part isolation structure model was presented with its dynamic and vibration equations established.The influence of the whipping effect upon the main structure and the tower building was researched using time history analysis and the measure of part isolated was used to control whipping effect.The conclusions suggest that the measure of increasing tower building rigid degree to control whipping effect can increase the earthquake response of the main structure too.The using part isolation can not only reduce whipping effect but also reduce the earthquake response of the main structure visibly.The earthquake response of the main structure can lower to 40%.


Mountainous area occupies an important status and ecological location in China.However,it also has slow development.Taking Suichuan county as a good example,the author uses data to analyze the importance and feasibility of constructing ecological industries,then aims at the economic and environmental question,brings forward to establish ecological agriculture、ecological industries and ecological tourism,in order to promote its sustainable development.


Vortex is considered to be a promising candidate for nonvolatile magnetic random storage devices due to its unique binary state and high thermal stability. The control of vortex polarity and chirality is key to devices based on vortex. In this work, the switching of the magnetic vortex state in Permalloy nanodisks has been investigated by micromagnetic simulation employing in-plane alternating magnetic fields. During the switching of magnetic vortex state, an antivortex is formed, and the antivortex and vortex will not annihilate together. The formation of antivortex and the annihilation of initial vortex lead to the switching of magnetic vortex state. The switching of vortex state depends on magnetic field and disk size. The switching time of magnetic vortex state declines with the enhancement of magnetic field amplitude or magnetic field frequency. All the switching can be completed within 1.4 ns, indicating that the alternating magnetic field driving can induce the rapid switching of vortex state. This work provides an effective method for the fast switching of magnetic vortex state, which benefits the potential storage applications in vortex-based spintronic devices.


Enhancements of atmospherics associated with local thunderstorms occurring in a tropical station. Calcutta, were studied on 30 kc/s. The various stages of an enhancement were correlated with the different stages of development of thunderclouds occurring in the rainy seasons. The results show an association of a sudden increase and sudden decrease of atmospherics in the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons respectively with precipitation. Atmospherics activity noticed early m the process of development of clouds before any precipitation occurs and even before the cloud has, perhaps, developed up to the ice-forming level is indicated. The potential meteorological Importance of the enhancements ill forecasting the thunderstorms and also in providing with a new insight into the mechanism of charge separation in thunderclouds in discussed. The studies also indicate the significance of cloud discharges as a source of atmospheric radio noise.


Surgical or radiotherapy-mediated eradication of tumors gives the best opportunity for cure, if the tumor is restricted to the primary sites. Chemotherapy is employed for disseminated disease but frequently fails to give clinical benefit. Thus, with our ever expanding understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of cytokine- and/or chemokine-mediated immune reactions to tumor, these molecules have become good candidates for cancer therapy. Unfortunately, most cytokines and chemokines have very short half-lives and their systemic delivery of pharmacological doses frequently results in severe adverse effects. These circumstances prompted many investigators to evaluate the genetic delivery of cytokines and chemokines for the treatment of cancer. Here, current status of clinical and pre-clinical studies of cytokine and chemokines will be discussed, particularly focusing on those with clinical relevance.


During the period of the war of cresistance against Japan,the Communist Party regarded the struggling for its own legal status as the requirement to negotiate and contact with the Kuomingtang.It also considered it as one of the important content.The Communist Party refused to amalgamate with the Kuomingtang.It refuted the National Party's abstract united opinion and exposed the Kuomingtang's substance of one party's autocracy. The Communist Party carried out unremittingly fighting for its own legal status.


The histochemical demonstration of dehydrogenase activity using tetrazolium sometimes occurs in the absence of added substrate. This occurrence has been called "nothing dehydrogenase". The present study, based on starch gel electrophoresis of mouse tissues and of pure alcohol dehydrogenase, as well as quantitative measurements of the latter, indicates that alcohol dehydrogenase is the major agent of "nothing dehydrogenase" activity.


A 3D 'atomistic' simulation technique to study random dopant induced threshold voltage lowering and fluctuations in sub 0.1 /spl mu/m MOSFETs is presented. It allows statistical analysis of random impurity effects down to the individual impurity level. Efficient algorithms based on a single solution of Poisson's equation, followed by the solution of a simplified current continuity equation are used in the simulations.


Theory of the bottom of the pyramid without
doubt is one of the most influential theories
in the business literatures in the past
decades. Prahalad suggested a new mechanism
for poverty reduction; large-scale and widespread
entrepreneurship is at the heart of the
solution to poverty eradication (Prahalad, 2004,
Page 28). This idea attracts attention of many
scholars in di↵erent fields. This paper suggests
that economic theories can contribute to BOP
literature. This paper utilizes two influential
economic theories; transaction costs and market
design economics, to further enrich the BOP literature.


The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction ('the Abduction Convention') seeks to secure the prompt return of children in cases of wrongful removal or retention. It operates on the assumption that this is in the best interests of children except for certain limited circumstances provided for by Articles 13 and 20 of the Abduction Convention. There is an established body of case-law relating to the Convention which for the most part fits into a pattern of uniform interpretation. National caselaw concerning the Abduction Convention has on the whole struck the right balance.


This paper describes and evaluates the use of 3D spatial in-air body movement interaction for human control of music software. This technique was implemented, prior to this work, in an input device prototype, MoveMIDI, which allows users to initiate rhythmic musical events by hitting zones of 3D geometry in a virtual environment using position-tracked motion controllers. This work evaluates MoveMIDI's spatial interaction strategy for music in a usability study measuring timing accuracy of participants performing rhythms using MoveMIDI in comparison to two other input devices. The study revealed spatial unsureness of participants using MoveMIDI due to visualization and haptic shortcomings. While results for the MoveMIDI prototype are not positive, points of improvement are revealed, and our methodology provides a novel comparison for input devices in the context of rhythmic performance accuracy.


The catastrophic oil spill on April 20, 2010, in which an estimated five million barrels of crude oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico from a depth of 1544 m, has been postulated to promote a bloom of disease causing Vibrios. To determine if Vibrio populations increased as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, water column and salt marsh sediment samples were collected from a coastal study site, Point Aux Pins, Alabama beginning in June 2010. During July 2010, tar balls, mousse, and oil sheens were observed at the salt marsh study site. A coupled microbiological and molecular approach was used to determine the frequency of known hydrocarbon degrading strains. PhyloChip 16S microarray analysis indicated significant increases in OTU richness from June 2010 to July 2010. Specifically, we detected high numbers of Gammaproteobacteria. Within the Gammaproteobacteria, Vibrio populations exhibited significant increases in OTU richness from June 2010 to July 2010 in the Inlet 0-2 cm (surficial) sediments. A gene-based functional microarray based analysis, i.e., GeoChip, indicated significant increases in functional gene richness amongst the following categories: antibiotic resistance, metals resistance, organic remediation, stress, and virulence for the salt marsh microbial community. Increases in the abundances of Vibrio-associated genes were also seen amongst the same categories. In addition to the molecular analyses described, lab-based hydrocarbon and dispersant amendments yielded results that suggested that non-weathered MC252 oil stimulates microbial growth, while the dispersant (Corexit 9500) significantly inhibited microbial growth. The weathered MC252 tar balls and mousse that impacted the salt marsh study site were incubated under lab conditions to enrich and culture bacterial strains from samples collected at Point Aux Pins, Dauphin Island and Gulf Shores, Alabama. Preliminary results indicate that presumptive Vibrios comprised 86%, 100%, and 14% respectively from the tree sampling sites. The observed shifts in the microbial community at Point Aux Pins, Alabama following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill indicated a rapid response by the salt marsh microbes such that potential hydrocarbon degrading genera were enriched, including Vibrio populations, although the propensity of Vibrios to degrade MC252 requires further investigation.


A new species, Bambusananus bispinosus sp. nov., is described and illustrated from Yunnan Province, China. A key based on the aedeagus is given to distinguish all species of the genus. The type specimens of the new species are deposited in the Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China (GUGC).


We investigate the number of the solutions for the ellip- tic boundary value problem. We obtain a theorem which shows the existence of six weak solutions for the elliptic problem with jumping nonlinearity crossing three eigenvalues. We get this result by using the geometric mapping defined on the finite dimensional subspace. We use the contraction mapping principle to reduce the problem on the infinite dimensional space to that on the finite dimensional subspace. We construct a three dimensional subspace with three axis spanned by three eigenvalues and a mapping from the finite dimensional subspace to the one dimensional subspace.


This paper examines the role of macroeconomic policies in determining long run economic growth. Several recent papers conclude that once we control for the quality of institutions, policies have a negligible efiect on growth. The present paper draws on the recent literature which focuses on changes in the growth process rather than the average growth. We estimate a model where countries switch between difierent growth regimes on their development paths - a regime of stable growth, stagnation, crisis and miracle-like fast growth. We use the estimated average probabilities of regimes obtained from a Markov switching model to estimate a multinomial logit and determine the joint efiect of policies and institutions on growth and volatility through their efiects on regime probabilities. The results conflrm the importance of institutions for growth and volatility. However, they indicate that the efiect of improving institutions is much greater around the median than for either low or high quality of institutions. The results also show that macro policies; in∞ation, openness to trade, size of government and real exchange rate overvaluation matter for changes in growth patterns and thus in∞uence the average growth and volatility in the long run. Moreover, their efiects are nonlinear and dependent on the quality of institutions. For example, the efiect of trade on growth is found to be negative for countries with weak institutions and positive in countries with good institutions. The opposite holds for the size of government, which lowers growth in countries with good institutions and raises it for weak-institutions countries. Irrespective of institutional quality, trade increases volatility while the size of government lowers it. Extending the analysis to include separate efiects of political institutions we flnd that similarly to the rule of law, democracy increases the frequency of stable growth. Unlike rule of law, however, democracy signiflcantly lowers the chances of miracle growth takeofis. This efiect, consistent with Olson (1982), appears to be the primary source of convergence.


The importance of foreign investment in the development of countries in the aspect of leveling the deficit of domestic financial resources and the restructuring of their national economies has been updated. The statistics on the total volume of direct foreign investments in the Ukrainian economy during 2010—2017 are presented. The reasons for the slow growth of direct foreign investments into the Ukrainian economy in recent years have been identified. The positioning of Ukraine in world international ratings, in particular, the index of economic freedom, innovative technologies, ease of doing business, competitiveness, perception of corruption, global competitiveness index, is summarized. The geographic structure of foreign direct investment is diagnosed. The emphasis is on the problem of investment from offshore areas. The factors determining the low level of investment attractiveness of Ukraine are determined, which are differentiated by two blocks: the first of which is determined by the characteristics of the state as a system investment object, and the second — by unfavorable investment climate. It is noted that the inappropriate distribution of direct foreign investments between industries that threatens to deepen the imbalances of commodity and financial markets and the conservation of inefficient production structures is strongly influenced by the low level of investment attractiveness of Ukraine. Attention is drawn to the low stimulating effect of foreign direct investment on the formation of production of higher 5th and 6th technological processes. The priority directions of activation of foreign investment are highlighted: creation of favorable investment climate in the country, ensuring compliance of distribution of direct foreign investments with the strategic tasks of economic development of the state, which will increase the level of attractiveness of Ukraine as a systemic object of foreign investment. The objective necessity of real rather than declarative improvement of the investment climate, reduction of bureaucratic procedures, simplification of regulatory requirements and the adoption of radical measures for effective protection of investments are noted, the development and implementation of a rational investment concept that will provide an increase in investment activity in the presence of certain economic conditions.


The following article presents results of a multi-national project focusing on the development of tourism, in accordance with the principles of sustainability in the Three border area of Austria, Italy and Slovenia. This area was the candidate for the Winter Olympics 2006. The paper registers tourist demand and offerings; through the concept of "bricklaying" the existing tourist attractions are glued together into one single tourist product. In particular the fact that this is an area where the Romance (Italian), Germanic (Austrian) and Slavonic (Slovenian) peoples and culture meet plays in important role in promotional and sustainable development aspects. History plays in important role as well.


The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting social and economic life worldwide. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current status of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. National data regarding SARS-CoV-2 infections in Saudi Arabia were obtained from the World Health Organization, the Saudi Ministry of Health, and Our World in Data as of June 13, 2020. The stimulus package data were obtained from the International Monetary Fund. The data were then analyzed to paint the current scenario of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. The initial case of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Saudi Arabia was detected on March 2, 2020. Epidemiological data indicate that by August 15, 2020, there were a total of 258,156 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2,601 deaths. The case fatality rate decreased significantly to 0.74% on June 13, compared to 1.51% on April 7, 2020. The tests per thousand people increased to 0.66. The study suggests that importation of SARS-CoV-2 infection was effectively handled by the government, with stringent lockdown and significant support for employees and local businesses through stimulus packages.


Abstract: The initial development of borosilicate, aluminosilicate, phosphate and ceramic glass formulations for the solidification of HLW took place in the US, Canada, Europe and the USSR over the course of the 1950s and 1960s. Borosilicate glass formulations were first investigated in the US between 1956 and 1957 by Goldman and colleagues at the Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT). However, the main bulk of research into the vitrification process was conducted in the UK and Europe in the 1960s. Between 1952 and 1962, Canadian scientists began developing aluminosilicate glass formulations at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories (CRNL), and in 1967, Tuthill and others launched research into phosphate waste glasses at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). This chapter describes the research and development process, the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and their various applications.


A new formulation of non-reflecting boundary conditions on open outlet boundaries of domains of gas-dynamic flow is proposed. A combination of three strictly non-reflecting conditions is used: the known condition for supersonic flow, which gives a typically consistent approximation of the equations on the boundary, the condition for the conservation ofhomogeneous equilibrium subsonic flow, and a new condition, connected with the use of gas-dynamic parameters in the boundary rarefaction wave at the sonic point. A comparison is made between the non-reflecting properties of the proposed approach and several known formulations using the example of calculations of the interaction between supersonic flow and a spherically symmetric source, simulating the stellar wind/interstellar medium interaction. In the parameter range under consideration, for practically all the generally accepted formulations this problem is critical, and it is used as the basis for developing the proposed approach.


Prions are ''infectious'' misfolded protein states that can template their self-perpetuating conformations onto other molecules of the same type. This unusual folding landscape drives a paradigm-shifting mechanism of inheritance based on changes in protein conformation rather than changes in nucleic acid. The first prion discovered, Prion Protein (PrP), is the causal agent of several human neurodegenerative diseases, including kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob [1]. This history has engendered the widespread perception that prions are inherently pathogenic. However, many additional prions have now been found in other eukaryotes in which they influence diverse biological processes and can produce beneficial traits. The most well-characterized of these are found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other fungi, such as Podospora anserina [2]. The best-studied prion is the yeast translation termination factor Sup35. In its soluble form, this protein promotes the faithful termination of protein synthesis. However, in its self-perpetuating prion form, known as [PSI], most Sup35 is sequestered into insoluble amyloid fibers. This increases translational readthrough of stop codons and leads to a variety of phenotypic effects [3]. Most of these traits involve multiple loci and arise from previously cryptic genetic variation (e.g., polymorphisms downstream of stop codons) [3]. That is, [PSI] provides access to genetically complex traits in a single step. Sup35 variants from fungi separated by over 100 million years of evolution retain the ability to acquire [PSI] [4,5]. In the laboratory, cells spontaneously acquire [PSI] at low frequencies (,1 in 10) [2,6]. Some have suggested that this element thus provides a ''bet-hedging'' mechanism, promoting survival by speeding the manifestation of new heritable traits in fluctuating environments [6]. Any population of cells that grows to an appreciable size will include some [PSI] individuals. Although these [PSI] cells are genetically identical to the majority, they will nonetheless express different traits. Even if the phenotypes produced by [PSI] are neutral or detrimental in many environments, a rare strong selective advantage would ensure survival of the population in conditions in which it would otherwise perish [3]. Indeed, population genetics modeling suggests that even extremely rare selective advantages are sufficient to explain the [PSI] switching rates observed in laboratory growth conditions [7]. This line of thinking is intuitively appealing and could easily be extended to other prions. Yet, an opposing view posits that yeast prions are in fact diseases or even artifacts of laboratory culture. A key line of evidence supporting this view had long been the absence of prions in natural yeast isolates that had been tested [8]. However, the recent acquisition of many additional sequenced wild yeast strains has revealed prions' common presence in nature. Analysis of nearly 700 such strains from diverse ecological niches revealed that many harbored [PSI] and/or other prions [9]. [PSI] was found in ,2% of the strains. [MOT3], which is formed by the Mot3 transcription factor and provides resistance to cellwall toxins, was observed in ,6% of the tested strains [9]. Moreover, one third of the wild strains analyzed had additional phenotypes with the unusual features of prion-based inheritance (e.g., cytoplasmic transmission and strong dependence on the activities of molecular chaperones) [9]. These observations have not eliminated the ''prions as diseases'' argument (see below), but they clearly demonstrate that prions are not merely an anomaly created in the laboratory. Rather, they play a crucial role in shaping the behavior of natural populations.


An analysis is performed to study the effect of the buoyancy force on the flow and heat transfer characteristics in a viscous fluid over a heated vertical continuously moving surface with a parallel free stream. The buoyancy force varies with the streamwise distance x and hence introduces nonsimilarity in the flow field. Both the constant wall temperature and constant heat flux conditions are included in the analysis. The partial differential equations governing the flow are solved numerically. Closed form solutions are obtained when the wall and free stream velocities are equal and there is no buoyancy force. Also the correlation equations for the local Nusselt number are developed. It is found that for opposing flow or for an upstream moving wall, the solution does not exist beyond a certain value of the buoyancy parameter or the ratio of wall and free stream velocities.


State Space Reconstruction is an important part in chaotic analyzing,it directly influences the result of chaotic analyzing.In order to testing the performance of different reconstruction methods on processing underwater target radiate acoustic signal,simulate several reconstruction methods,such as Autocorrelation G_P method,SVD method,C_C method,compare different methods to find the most suitable method for processing underwater target radiate acoustic signal.It's proved that the Autocorrelation G_P method and the SVD method do well on processing underwater target radiate acoustic signal,but C_C method does bad.So in order to get better analyzing result we can use the Autocorrelation G_P method and the SVD method to process underwater target radiate acoustic signal from now on.


When we were drawing up an outline for a history of the Shanghai labor movement (1919-49) in 1984, I only had in mind the general principle that we should expound the characteristics and function of the labor movement under the leadership of the party, and illustrate how the Marxist theory of the labor movement had been applied in practice to Chinese conditions. At that time the writing had not yet begun and I could not come up with more explicit criteria to be followed in the writing of such a history. As general editor of the project, all I could do was to hand out an outline to the writers involved in the individual chapters, leaving the rest to them. I requested that the drafts be submitted to me so that I could pick out the significant issues common to the whole, and call them to the general attention, without meddling with the individual drafts. The chapters were handed in one after another and by June/July of 1985, as I was still in the process of reading, it was already apparent to me that the var...


Applications requiring real-time communication (RTC) between Internet peers are ever increasing. RTC requires not only congestion control but also minimization of queuing delays to provide interactivity. It is known that the well-established transmission control protocol congestion control is not suitable for RTC due to its retransmissions and in-order delivery mechanisms, which induce significant latency. In this paper, we propose a novel congestion control algorithm for RTC, which is based on the main idea of estimating—using a Kalman Filter—the end-to-end one-way delay variation which is experienced by packets traveling from a sender to a destination. This estimate is compared with a dynamic threshold and drives the dynamics of a controller located at the receiver, which aims at maintaining queuing delays low, while a loss-based controller located at the sender acts when losses are detected. The proposed congestion control algorithm has been adopted by Google Chrome. Extensive experimental evaluations have shown that the algorithm contains queuing delays while providing intra and inter protocol fairness along with full link utilization.


RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED TO DISCOVER AND DEVELOP A MEANS OF NETWORK EVALUATION THAT WILL HELP TO DETERMINE JUST WHO BENEFITS OR LOSES FROM A PARTICULAR NETWORK CHANGE. A METHOD OF EVALUATION IS DESCRIBED WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO COMPARE NETWORKS EVEN THOUGH THE INTERZONAL DEMAND FOR TRAVEL OVER THE TWO NETWORKS MAY DIFFER. THE METHOD CAN BE USED TO COMPUTE THE NET USER BENEFIT ACCRUING FROM FLOWS OVER A GIVEN NETWORK, BUT IS MOST USEFUL IN COMPARING ALTERNATIVE NETWORKS ON THE BASIS OF THE DIFFERENCE IN NET USER BENEFITS ACCRUING FROM THEM. IT REQUIRES INTERZONAL TRAFFIC VOLUMES AND INTERZONAL SEPARATIONS FROM EACH ALTERNATIVE NETWORK. THE EFFECT OF ALTERNATIVE NETWORKS ON TRAVEL DEMAND CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR. CONSTANT OR FIXED TRAVEL DEMAND NEED NOT BE ASSUMED. THE METHOD IS BASED ON A CONSISTENT ECONOMIC RATIONALE. IT USES CONSUMER SURPLUS AS A MEASURE OF BENEFIT. THE MEASURE OF NET VALUE PRODUCED BY THE METHOD IS ONLY AS COMPREHENSIVE AS THE DATA ON WHICH THE VALUES OF INTERZONAL SEPARATION ARE BASED. THERE IS A NEED FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE MEASURES OF INTERZONAL SEPARATION. ALTHOUGH ONLY TWO NETWORKS MAY BE COMPARED AT A TIME, TWO OF THE VERSIONS OF THE METHOD REQUIRE ESTIMATION OF ONLY A PARTIAL SEGMENT OF THE DEMAND CURVE FOR TRAVEL FROM EACH ZONE. THE VERSION ADVOCATED FOR CURRENT USE REQUIRES ONLY THE INTERZONAL VOLUMES AND THE INTERZONAL SEPARATIONS FOR EACH NETWORK BEING EVALUATED. IT IS NOT CONSTRAINED TO TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT, IF RELIABLE VOLUME AND SEPARATION DATA ARE AVAILABLE FROM SOME OTHER SOURCE.


The results of an LCAO—MO—SCF—CI calculation of the 2Σu ground state of linear H3 are presented and the wave functions obtained from this calculation are used to calculate the general features of the electron spin resonance spectrum. The calculation is carried through for the Fermi contact interaction, which is the principal interaction between the proton and electron spins. It is found that the off‐diagonal elements of the hyperfine interaction matrix may not be neglected in that they split degenerate levels. The predicted spectrum, however, does not agree with the observed electron spin resonance spectrum of discharged hydrogen deposited at liquid helium temperatures. In addition the expected electron spin resonance spectrum of H2+ has been calculated from the exact wave function.


Sir,

This recent review gives an excellent overview of uric acid and its disease associations. We would like to add that low levels of uric acid may be a significant and pathological finding; and that there are other important inherited causes of hyperuricaemia.

As the reviewers noted, the kidney plays a significant …


Summary Alion (indaziflam) combined with Sencor (metribuzin) were the most effective herbicides for kochia control. Sharpen (saflufenacil) alone or with Prowl H 2 O (pendimeth-alin), Sencor, or Alion was less effective at controlling kochia compared to Alion plus Sencor. By 91 days after treatment (DAT), Alion at rates above 3 oz/a plus Sencor were more effective than lower rates for kochia control. However, all Alion plus Sencor treatments were better than Sharpen-containing tank mixes 91 DAT.


Objective To explore the modified method in cesarean section of second stage of labour. Methods Cases were divided into two groups and cesarean section complication bleeding and operation time were analysed. Results Modified method for fetal delivery in cesearean section of second stage of labour is simple, safe and easy to learn which is worth applying.


When superconducting gyroscope rotor is deviated from the center, the traditional method is to use its negative stiffness characteristic to make the rotor automatically return to its original position. In order to improve the dynamic performance of superconducting gyroscope rotor, an optimized design of the rotor suspension control system is carried out. Firstly, the force of the gyroscope rotor is analyzed. Secondly, the suspension control loop of the gyroscope rotor system is designed. Thirdly, the controller parameters in the suspension control loop are optimized by using flower pollination algorithm (FPA). The experimental results show that the dynamic performances optimized of the suspension control system of superconducting gyroscope rotor are obviously improved.


This study fills the gaps in existing research on HRM in Australian SMEs by considering a wide range of standard human resource (HR) practices and some industrial relations practices. The small business sector has been regarded as the natural home for 'bleak house' human resource management practices typified by low uptake of human resource practices, little or no collective representation of employees and little or no employee participation. The results, reporting a national study (n = 1435) on human resource management practices in Australian SMEs, reveal a moderate take-up of human resource management practices. These findings by themselves do not support what Storey has called the 'bleak house' scenario in Australian SMEs. However, there are factors that may have a negative impact on the relative positive picture portrayed in this study, when the impact of organisational size, the presence of a HR manager and prevalence of a strategic plan on the uptake of HR practices in SMEs are considered, together with low unionisation, low employee participation and a low incidence of collective practices.


The report summarizes the current state of research of quantino-theory, which is an approach to explain fundamental physical phenomena based on Weber electrodynamics. The core concept of quantino-theory is a force-carrier model, which fulfils the postulates of special relativity without the spacetime. The field theory that follows out of this model does not turn for slow charge-carrier velocities into Maxwell electrodynamics but Weber electrodynamics. Based on the quantino-mechanism, numerous physical effects can be reinterpreted and explained. For example, it is possible to show that gravity is a thermodynamic electromagnetic relativistic effect of fourth order. Furthermore, quantino-theory seems to be an interesting approach to explain the reason for the existence of quantum mechanical effects, inertia and anti-matter. The report furthermore discusses the perihelion precession of the planet Mercury, the mass-energy-relation, photons and electromagnetic waves.


A wind-tunnel study has been carried out to assess wind loads on multispan gable roofs with roof slopes of 4:12 and 12:12. Local and area-averaged pressure coefficients were measured on models with one, two, and four spans. Critical suctions were significantly larger than those specified for single-span roofs in wind standards. Discrepancies between single-span design pressures and the multispan results were largest for the high-pitch roof, for which local suctions obtained in the present study exceed the wind-standard values by a factor of two. Suctions measured on the 4:12 single-span and multispan roofs were 20–50% higher than design values specified in wind standards for single-span buildings. Critical values of positive pressures measured on the 4:12 and 12:12 multispan gable roofs agree well with design pressures specified in wind standards for single-span gable roofs. The largest positive pressures occurred on the high-pitch roof along the low edge of the windward span and in the trough regions. The present paper proposes design pressure coefficients for multispan gable roofs.


The quenching mechanism of the emission from the P03 level of Pr3+ doped into YVO4 has been investigated by means of optical spectroscopy techniques. Continuous wave and time-resolved emission and excitation measurements have been carried out as a function of the temperature and of the dopant concentration in order to obtain information on the energy-transfer processes involved in the host sensitization of the red luminescence and in the depopulation of the emitting states. The experiments have also been extended to LaVO4:Pr3+ and YPO4:Pr3+, i.e., two crystals for which the P03 emission is stronger than for YVO4:Pr3+, with the aim of studying the relationship between of the host properties and the optical behavior of the Pr3+ ion.


Tenecteplase (TNK) is more fibrin specific and has longer activity duration than Alteplase (ALT). Compared to ALT, recent acute stroke treatment studies have found TNK at doses up to 0.4mg/kg to ha...


The incidence of birth defect in China is still high, which is not only affected by genetic factors, but also affected by heavy metals in surrounding that prejudices foetus' normal development. Heavy metal is a kind of inorganic pollutants with high toxicity. Excessive intake of lead, cadmium, arsenic or mercury, and the insufficient intake of zinc, calcium and copper may both lead to at least 1 kind of birth defect. The interactions between heavy metals also affect the outcomes of pregnancy. This paper reviewed different relationships between heavy metals and birth defect recording to relevant achievements such as animal experimentations and epidemiologic study made by researches from at home and abroad in recent years. It is advised to intake adequate zinc and copper and avoid being exposed to harmful metals to make sure the effective reduction of the incidences of birth defects. This paper will also point out the direction of future research about the relationship among the birth defects and heavy metal.

Key words:
Heavy metal; Pregnancy; Birth defect


In this study, we report a successful strategy for the generation of a type of multifunctional heterogeneous supported ionic liquids catalysts. The synthesized supported ionic liquids (Fe‐MCM‐41/IL) were used in the catalytic cyclocondensation of 2‐aminobenzamide and various ketones and aldehydes towards the efficient synthesis of the dihydroquinazolinones under green conditions. The influence of the different catalysts and reaction parameters on the catalytic behaviors were sufficiently investigated. The supported catalyst (2)Fe‐MCM‐41/IL(0.6) showed the optimal catalytic efficiency. A hot filtration experiment revealed that the reaction proceeded in a heterogeneous pathway. The catalytic activity of (2)Fe‐MCM‐41/IL(0.6) could be maintained efficiently after recycling up to five consecutive runs under the optimized reaction conditions. Merits of this meticulously designed protocol are the use of novel supported catalyst, easy work‐up process, feasibility and sustainability, indicating its potential industrial application prospect.


Four hundred eighty tilapia were randomly divided into four treatments exposed to 0,100,400 and 800 μg Pb·g-1 respectively in diet,and effects of dietary Pb on growth performance and Pb residues in tissues of tilapia were investigated.The results show that no significant differences in growth performance were observed between control and Pb-exposed treatment(P0.05) after 45-day trial.Pb residues in tissues of tilapia increased with the increase of dietary Pb concentrations and the prolongation of exposure period.Moreover,Pb accumulated in sampled tissues was the order as follows:intestine posterior kidney bone stomach liver gill spleen testis muscle brain.The results above reveal that tilapia has strong resistance to dietary Pb stress.Pb residues in kidney and bone exhibited high Pb burdens may be used as surrogate indicators of Pb pollution,and Pb residues in intestine and stomach can indicate specially Pb contamination in diet.


The current economic and financial crisis puts the golf courses in the Algarve in an unprecedented situation: general decline in revenues (green fees, F&B, …) and general increase in costs (energy, VAT, …). Thus, this research takes in its central objective the identification and study of the current strategy options of the golf courses in the Western Algarve. We may conclude that the new organizational and competitive models of golf in the Algarve must point out the "value of money", intensify the training of human resources, restructure costs and pay attention to the growing margin the domestic market may represent. It is considered that any measures taken by each course in these fields, if singly taken, are doomed to a short-term success, because in a macro framework of increased restrictions only cooperation between the golf courses will bear the dimension, efficiency and competitiveness of the product.


As a by-product of the Chinese society as essentially semi-feudal and semi-colonial,Church-run schools were initially an asser- tion of the Western colonial powers' expansionism.It should be recognized,however,that the establishment of these schools contributed in some positive way to the modernization of the education system in Northern Zhejiang.Many students who graduated from these schools be came perhaps the first generation of scientists and intellectuals in the modern times of China ,who pushed forward fundamental changes in education and scientific development.Church-run schools for women also promoted the freedom for women.


Background: Anxiety and depressive disorders can be widespread among patients who are being treated in surgical clinics and they can affect operation outcomes. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the level of their anxiety and depression in the preoperative period and the pain level in the postoperative period, analgesic requirement, development of complications and the duration of hospital stay in patients followed up in an ENT clinic. Materials and Methods : One hundred and three ( n =103) subjects [male = 56 (%54), female = 47 (%45.6)] filled out the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, sociodemographic data evaluation form before the surgery. Postsurgical pain levels of the subjects were evaluated by the Visual Pain Scale. The analgesic requirements of the subjects were assessed and their duration of hospital stay was noted. Results: While the presence of preoperative anxiety was a predictor of postoperative pain, such a relationship was not found between depression and postoperative pain. On the Visual Pain Scale, it was observed that the anxiety levels were moderately correlated with the Visual Pain Scale assessments on the first day of postoperative period (r = 0.30, P P Conclusion: For elective conditions requiring short-term hospitalization in ENT surgery, presence of preoperative anxiety seems to be a significant predictor of postoperative pain.


It has been suggested by Householder [1] and by Householder and Bauer [2] that orthogonal similarity transformations of matrices are particularly stable with respect to the practical computation of proper values. It is the purpose of this note to examine this question and to demonstrate in terms of a "condition number" to be defined below a sense in which this conjecture is true.
Broadly speaking, any problem may be termed "ill-conditioned" for which the solution is acutely sensitive to slight variations in the parameters of the problem. Examples of ill-conditioning occur in many contexts. Computers are familiar with the phenomenon as it manifests itself, for example, in the study of matrix inversion. Since our purpose is to study the conditioning of matrices specifically for the proper value problem, it is convenient to have a nomenclature and notation which will avoid confusion with conditioning as it is used in other senses.